Overview

This dynamic course, delivered over two modules, is specially designed for health and social care practitioners who teach and assess students and staff in clinical practice.

Read full overview

This dynamic course, delivered over two modules, is specially designed for health and social care practitioners who teach and assess students and staff in clinical practice.

For nurses and midwives, it is approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a practice teacher programme, under their 2008 Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice.

Most applicants usually have a degree, however we will consider those who can demonstrate equivalent skills and knowledge.

The course will enable you to:

Analyse knowledge of education and professional issues relating to your role as an educator in the practice setting

Explore the tensions between theory and practice and their implications when facilitating student and staff learning in practice

Debate contemporary policy issues in the context of research in professional education and clinical practice

Demonstrate your abilities to meet standards set out by your professional body

Students who take this course have evaluated it highly, reporting that it has enhanced their role and opened the door for significant career development. They also tell us that it has expanded their knowledge of educational theory, while providing a practical toolkit of strategies for developing education in practice. Applying cutting-edge theory that is relevant to your own practice is one of the key strengths of the course.

Profession-specific requirements

For nurses and midwives, you will need to complete 30 days of protected study time, supported by your employer for the duration of the course, in order to meet the NMC Practice Teacher Standards part of the course.

Key facts

Rated 4th in the UK for physiotherapy in the Complete University Guide 2015 and 7th for nursing and midwifery in the Guardian University Guide League Tables 2015

We are a leading environment for world class research according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014; 86% of our research activity is rated as world leading and internationally excellent with significant impact on people's health and wellbeing. We have also seen a 35% improvement in the quality of research undertaken in the past five years

Ranked 5th best in terms of research power in our unit of assessment, a measure which includes the quality of research and number of research active staff according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014

98% of students from nursing, midwifery and physiotherapy who participated in the 2013 Postgraduate Research Experience Survey were satisfied with the experience of their research degree programme

Our teaching team includes a number of Senior Fellows and Fellows of the Higher Education Academy

We have a community of over 3,000 students and around 280 academic and support staff

Course details

The course features two modules, each worth 30 credits:

Teaching and Learning in Health and Social Care (Level 4)

Practice Teacher in Health and Social Care (Level 4)

If you do not want to complete the full course, you can study either module as stand alone study. The Practice Teacher module requires you to complete a portfolio of evidence showing that you meet Practice Teacher Standards, as set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council or other relevant professional body.

The modules we offer are inspired by the research interests of our staff and as a result may change for reasons of, for example, research developments or legislation changes. This list is an example of typical modules we offer, not a definitive list.

Funding

Home/EU students

Funded places are available to health and social care professionals working in the East Midlands (under certain conditions). These places are funded through Health Education East Midlands contract with The University of Nottingham. The only exception to this is the dissertation which may require self-funding or funding from another source. Once you have approval from your manager to apply for the course, complete the online application.

You can find out more detailed information about course fees, scholarships and funding on the School website.

If you have a question about funding please call +44 (0)115 823 1213.

The Graduate School website at The University of Nottingham provides more information on internal and external sources of postgraduate funding.

LBR funded students

International students

Careers

This course is vocationally driven and aimed at health and social care practitioners who are seeking a qualification to consolidate and inform their practice-based role in teaching and assessing.

Student Profiles

Yvonne Jackson

Lead Clinical Educator, DCHS NHS Trust

"Following the Practice Teacher Course at Nottingham I have changed several aspects in regards to my preparation, delivery and evaluation of the educational programmes I currently develop and deliver.

The changes to the preparation are mainly around acknowledging existing knowledge of participants in the groups. This has been quite difficult to achieve as my audience are often from a mixed inter professional background with a diverse clinical knowledge base. Although there is an expectation in the case of clinical skill acquisition that they are all required to be at the same level when they have completed the training from a competency point of view. Identifying individual’s strengths and challenges enables me to focus more on their knowledge/practice gaps and actually improve the flow of the sessions for everyone.

Identifying individual learning styles informed my style of teaching. Subsequent evaluations of the numerous clinical skill sessions I deliver all showed the participants preferred to learn via a variety of methods. Predominantly, in order of preference, a theoretical session followed by a demonstration of the skill by the facilitator and then each given the opportunity to be supervised in a practice/simulation session was favoured. By completing this evaluation, where a clinical skill is involved, I am confident their style of learning is met. Although, I am conscious there will always be individuals who would not agree. However, when teaching a large group of staff, realistically this can be difficult to achieve.

Prior to the course I had not realised fully the value of constructive feedback and the effect this has on individuals further learning and approach to their education. During individual assessments of clinical skills, if given feedback at the time participants are able to adjust/correct practice. In scenario based sessions however, i.e. Scenarios within Care of the Acutely Ill Patient, feedback is found to be better at the end. This enables the groups to look at how individuals work together, what could be improved or done differently to achieve a better outcome."

Volker TeweleitPhysiotherapist

"The transition from advanced practitioner to clinical educator is known to be difficult and I am no exception. This course has been an invaluable experience, helping me to begin to understand my role as a clinical educator. I am continuing to develop this role in my daily practice. This has been a very inspiring course and I am hoping to return to Nottingham University and enhance my qualifications in Education to Masters level in the future. I would recommend this course without hesitation to any senior clinician involved in any form of clinical education.

My role as a clinical educator involves teaching of both practical as well as theoretical skills to my colleagues. As a result of this course I am much more aware of different style of teaching and learning. This enables me to vary my teaching much to the satisfaction of myself and my students. The feedback I receive about my teaching is more positive following the course, indicating that my students are learning more and enjoying their experience. I find it much easier now to maintain the weekly in-service programme as it seems to be perceived by us all as a much more positive part of the working week."

Average starting salary and career progression

In 2015, 93% of postgraduates from nursing, midwifery and physiotherapy taught courses and research courses who were available for employment had secured work or further study within six months of graduation.*

* Known destinations of full-time home and EU postgraduates, 2014/15.

Recent graduates have gone on to work for NHS trusts (eg. clinical specialists, advanced practitioners, modern matrons), universities (eg. lecturers and senior academics, lecturer practitioners, researchers) and in private practice.

Career prospects and employability

The University of Nottingham is consistently named as one of the most targeted universities by Britain’s leading graduate employers* and can offer you a head-start when it comes to your career.

Those who take up a postgraduate research opportunity with us will not only receive support in terms of close contact with supervisors and specific training related to your area of research, you will also benefit from dedicated careers advice from our Careers and Employability Service.

Our Careers and Employability Service offers a range of services including advice sessions, employer events, recruitment fairs and skills workshops – and once you have graduated, you will have access to the service for life.

DisclaimerThis online prospectus has been drafted in advance of the academic year to which it applies. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing, but changes (for example to course content) are likely to occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the course. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply for the course where there has been an interval between you reading this website and applying.